To add some to previous advice about overhead shoulder exercises. If the doctor told you not to do overhead presses there are other ways of working the muscles similarly.
First, there's upright rows. As far as the shoulder is concerned it's basically the same exercise. With a history of shoulder problems it is generally advised to avoid lifting the upper arms past parallel
Second, there's incline presses. Again, similar muscular involvement, but less stress on the usual suspect in the shoulder i.e. the acromion.
Third, ask if the prohibition against overhead presses applies to all such exercises or just the barbell and machine versions. Dumbbell overhead presses allow the shoulder joint to move more 'naturally' and so are less likely to aggravate a shoulder problem.
Further, there's some variety in rotator cuff exercises that can be useful supplements to the above.
Lying face down on a bench you can do 3 external rotation exercises. With the elbows tucked at the side; with the upper arms straight out from your shoulders; and in-between, so that your arms look like a 'W' from above.
The other rotator cuff exercise is called an 'empty can'. Do lateral raises except with the hand turned with the palms facing backwards, like you would if you were emptying a can.
Lastly, scapular stability exercises will contribute to shoulder health and function. These are usually called something like 'YTI' because the three positions, viewed from above, look like a Y, T and I. The T is just a standard back fly exercise, they can be done lying on a (incline) bench or similar to make the whole set convenient to do*. The Y is the same exercise but your arms extend forward at an angle instead of straight out to the side. The I is done by extending the arms straight back/down, so that the weight is brought from a hanging position to up by your hips. With these three exercises it is important to make sure that your scapula is moving - the scapular movement is the entire point of these since doing so increases the stability of the shoulder joint. Rotation at the head of your upper arm is not helping the scapular stabilizers.
* Alternately they can be done in the same kind of position used for a bent over row, either one arm at a time with the other on the bench or both arms at the same time.
All the supplemental exercises involve small muscles* and should be done with smaller weights and for more reps, typically 12-15.
*The I exercise uses your rear delt and so can be done with larger weights.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Strength v. Stability
These are my thoughts on the general, raw strength training versus stability strength training disagreements that I've seen. There are two poles on this discussion and lots of people are at some point on a continuum between these two opposite ends. For the purposes of this commentary I'm going to contrast the two poles, as doing so makes some things more clear.
And as a reminder: the context of this blog is assumed to be athletic individuals training for combat sports and martial arts. Training for general fitness, and/or with deconditioned individuals is somewhat different.
The positions:
1) All you need is conventional, basic strength training. Squats, deadlifts, barbell bench press etc. Exercises done for high weights on stable surfaces with the objective of increasing the weight that can be lifted in that exercise.
2) Functional, and therefore useful, strength training means training on unstable surfaces. Increase the difficulty of squats by doing them on one leg and/or unstable surfaces. Increase the difficulty of chest presses by doing pushups on hanging handles/BOSU/wobble-board.
The problem I see with position 2 is this scenario: you are fighting someone who goes for type 1 and you do type 2. When they are stable, because they train for high force production when stable, they can hit much harder than you. They are more likely to blow through imperfect defenses because of this. They have good technical training and footwork and agility. As such, they are almost always stable; at which they are ideal. You don't suffer as much when unstable, but that doesn't come up as much during the fight. How does strength training influence the outcome of this fight?
The conclusion I've reached is that you need to do the basic, conventional, high-load strength training. And supplement with the stability based training.
A sample 2 day a week program might look like this:
Day1
Leg Press
Split Squat
Straight Leg Deadlift
Barbell Bench Press
Cable Low Row
Day 2
Front Squat
Rear-foot elevated or Single leg squat
Single leg, straight leg deadlift
Single arm, Dumbbell Bench Press
Bent Over, Dumbbell Row
If I were going to do only one then I would do the basic strength training. My reasoning being twofold: 1) The conventional lifts do require stability, though I include the split squat as a basic lift; 2) I do stability training by doing technical and agility training.
I'm especially interested in feedback on this particular post. So please share your thoughts.
And as a reminder: the context of this blog is assumed to be athletic individuals training for combat sports and martial arts. Training for general fitness, and/or with deconditioned individuals is somewhat different.
The positions:
1) All you need is conventional, basic strength training. Squats, deadlifts, barbell bench press etc. Exercises done for high weights on stable surfaces with the objective of increasing the weight that can be lifted in that exercise.
2) Functional, and therefore useful, strength training means training on unstable surfaces. Increase the difficulty of squats by doing them on one leg and/or unstable surfaces. Increase the difficulty of chest presses by doing pushups on hanging handles/BOSU/wobble-board.
The problem I see with position 2 is this scenario: you are fighting someone who goes for type 1 and you do type 2. When they are stable, because they train for high force production when stable, they can hit much harder than you. They are more likely to blow through imperfect defenses because of this. They have good technical training and footwork and agility. As such, they are almost always stable; at which they are ideal. You don't suffer as much when unstable, but that doesn't come up as much during the fight. How does strength training influence the outcome of this fight?
The conclusion I've reached is that you need to do the basic, conventional, high-load strength training. And supplement with the stability based training.
A sample 2 day a week program might look like this:
Day1
Leg Press
Split Squat
Straight Leg Deadlift
Barbell Bench Press
Cable Low Row
Day 2
Front Squat
Rear-foot elevated or Single leg squat
Single leg, straight leg deadlift
Single arm, Dumbbell Bench Press
Bent Over, Dumbbell Row
If I were going to do only one then I would do the basic strength training. My reasoning being twofold: 1) The conventional lifts do require stability, though I include the split squat as a basic lift; 2) I do stability training by doing technical and agility training.
I'm especially interested in feedback on this particular post. So please share your thoughts.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Why Strength Train?
Listed below are some the best reasons to include Strength and Conditioning training as part of any martial arts or combat sports training. They are in an approximate order of importance.
- Injury Prevention - Strength and conditioning is the most important and effective component of injury prevention in any sports program. A properly designed program has a very low incidence of injury itself and will do a tremendous amount to decrease the likelihood of injury. Additionally, in the event of injury, the well conditioned body will heal more effectively.
- Health and Fitness - Physical training is good for your body and health. It will benefit the practitioner in too many ways to list, such as decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Therefore if training for swordplay is the reason for getting more physical activity then it is an entirely worthwhile reason.
- Be able to Train More - Strength and Conditioning will increase the ability to practice and train technical components of the art. The idea is sometimes known as, “training to train”. Simply put, exercise will increase the number of reps of a technique that can be done in a row, decrease the necessary break times in a training session and increase the possible length of a training session. Or it can be thought of being able to fight more fights in row before becoming tired.
- Achieving your personal Best - A Strength and Conditioning program is necessary to reach your personal peak. Without a doubt, technical training is the larger component of success in a martial art. But the last steps to the highest level are done with strength and conditioning training as part of the program. But as explained in point 2, physical training will increase the ability to train and therefore speed and ease the path to expertise, so strength and conditioning should be implemented Day 1 to maximize the utility, safety and effectiveness of training.
- Improve Form - Some deficits in form are caused by deficits in strength. A particular muscle may be too weak or it may be inhibited and so may prevent a person from correctly performing a specific action. A well developed, comprehensive strengthening program should correct this problem.
Picking a Personal Trainer
Recently somebody asked me about how to figure out if somebody is a good personal trainer. This is an inherently tricky thing to do and I clearly have my own preferences. Also, my advice is most useful to Americans since I know more about American certification organizations than those in other parts of the world.
First off, my bias is towards a program that is strongly grounded in modern scientific research. Further, research must be understood and evaluated for quality and relevance. The most common abuse of research comes from over interpreting or extrapolating the results of a single study. I keep my recommendations to those which have the backing of at least several studies (the exception being those blog posts which are commentary on a specific research article).
As such, I place a high value on a personal trainer who has a strong background in exercise science and who applies that knowledge to their training. This second part is important. There need not be a connection between education in a topic and using that knowledge. There are afterall MD's who will support homeopathy.
At a minimum I'd look for a personal trainer with a Bachelor of Sciences in a topic such as Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology or Kinesiology. This automatically rules out almost all people who work as personal trainers. And if you think most personal trainers aren't that useful, then perhaps you'll see my point. To put this into perspective I'll compare my education to a typical personal trainer course. For each chapter or unit in such a course, I have a 3 credit course from an accredited University. That is, for each week they've spent on a topic I have a 16 week course complete with it's own text books, assignments and tests. The difference then is quite large.
I strongly recommend a trainer with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) cert from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The CSCS is the basic requirement for working as a strength coach for a professional or college sports team. To my knowledge it is the only such program in the US. This cert requires a 4-year degree like the kind I outlined above.
(Contrary to it's name the NSCA is actually an international organization with branches in several European countries, Japans and other parts of the world.)
The only other organization whose certification I trust is the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). However, the ACSM does not offer a sport or strength specific certification and they focus on public health and disease related physical activity programs (which is a great thing, but not necessarily as relevant to this blog).
There exist too many other certifying organizations for me to comment on all of them. I simply take an exclusive approach that a certification from another organization needs to prove itself. As personal trainer certification is in no way regulated in the United States it is not reasonable to assume that 'certified' has any meaning unless it is backed by a well regarded institution like the ACSM or NSCA.
First off, my bias is towards a program that is strongly grounded in modern scientific research. Further, research must be understood and evaluated for quality and relevance. The most common abuse of research comes from over interpreting or extrapolating the results of a single study. I keep my recommendations to those which have the backing of at least several studies (the exception being those blog posts which are commentary on a specific research article).
As such, I place a high value on a personal trainer who has a strong background in exercise science and who applies that knowledge to their training. This second part is important. There need not be a connection between education in a topic and using that knowledge. There are afterall MD's who will support homeopathy.
At a minimum I'd look for a personal trainer with a Bachelor of Sciences in a topic such as Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology or Kinesiology. This automatically rules out almost all people who work as personal trainers. And if you think most personal trainers aren't that useful, then perhaps you'll see my point. To put this into perspective I'll compare my education to a typical personal trainer course. For each chapter or unit in such a course, I have a 3 credit course from an accredited University. That is, for each week they've spent on a topic I have a 16 week course complete with it's own text books, assignments and tests. The difference then is quite large.
I strongly recommend a trainer with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) cert from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The CSCS is the basic requirement for working as a strength coach for a professional or college sports team. To my knowledge it is the only such program in the US. This cert requires a 4-year degree like the kind I outlined above.
(Contrary to it's name the NSCA is actually an international organization with branches in several European countries, Japans and other parts of the world.)
The only other organization whose certification I trust is the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). However, the ACSM does not offer a sport or strength specific certification and they focus on public health and disease related physical activity programs (which is a great thing, but not necessarily as relevant to this blog).
There exist too many other certifying organizations for me to comment on all of them. I simply take an exclusive approach that a certification from another organization needs to prove itself. As personal trainer certification is in no way regulated in the United States it is not reasonable to assume that 'certified' has any meaning unless it is backed by a well regarded institution like the ACSM or NSCA.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Clubbell-style Wrist Exercises
Tools like Indian Clubs and Clubbells etc. are popular tools, most often for wrist strengthening. There is a basic difference between a typical program for using these tools and what does the best job of building up wrist and forearm strength.
As I've mentioned before, the best way to build strength is with relatively higher weight and lower repetitions. For small joint exercises we can't get too high an intensity, but it is safe to do exercises in the 10-12RM range for the wrist; and elbow exercises in the 8-10RM range. Therefore increase the weight of the tool until you can only do the specified number of reps. This is also the reason that I prefer an adjustable tool.
This is in distinct contrast to the usual program for these tools which is based around very large numbers of repetitions at just a few pounds. This style of exercise will produce gains in muscular endurance but very little gain in strength. For somebody new to the program there will be a noticeable gain in strength when starting this program, but these gains are primarily a result of neural training. The training effect is that the muscles become more efficient and coordinated at the action. While this isn't a bad thing, it's not the result we are looking for in strengthening the muscles, because we still aren't triggering or building up our high-threshold motor units. The high-threshold motor units are responsible for our strength and power.
Further we should avoid trying to have good cutting form with these tools. It's not possible and so we shouldn't. Trying to have good form with a strength training tool will cause us to distort our form and so degrade form in the long run. In general you should not try to train form in a tool that weighs more than double the usual amount. For a tool that we are swinging around the math requires an extra step because we are looking at moment of inertia*. In short multiply the total weight of the tool by the distance from the top of your hand to the center of balance for the tool. For a typical longsword, with a 10cm CoB and a total mass of 1.5kg we get .15kgm. With a 2.5 kg tool (~5 lbs.) that's built like a clubbell the CoB is around 20cm out. As such we get a moment of inertia of .5kgm. Too heavy for good form. So use this tool for strength training instead.
* I have simplified the physics here for the sake of making it accessible and usable for a large number of people. I do not believe that my simplification alters the utility of the math.
These exercises are done with the forearm straight up so that the "power" part of the exercise is with the weight moving away from you and towards the target. Normally these exercises are shown standing upright with the forearm parallel to the floor. In that position the power is on the return action and the weight can fall through the cut.
* You can also stand/sit with the upper arm parallel to the floor and the forearm straight up, but this brings the weight closer to the head, so it doesn't work well with a lot of equipment or is just plain dangerous.
Disengage - assume the same position as above and then simply make circles with the end of the tool. Small circles are easier and more specific. Larger circles will require and build more strength but are less specific. A mix of each is reasonable. Remember to do both clockwise and counterclockwise.
Elbow Cuts - from the same position you can perform elbow cuts. For these actions a larger weight will be needed to maintain a strength training stimulus. And lower reps can be safely done because the prime movers are the elbow muscles. This exercise brings the weight closer to your face so care must be taken to avoid injury.
Basic Strength
Wrist Abduction and Adduction - Stand upright with your hands down by your side palm inward. Let the weight hang down and then lift it straight up. This is the power stroke of a false/short edge cut. Then reverse the weight so that the heavy end sticks out from the pinky side and do the same. This is the power stroke of a long/true edge cut.
Wrist Supination and Pronation - Stand with your arm extended fully out in front of you. Stick the weight out perpendicular to your arm, to the inside and let it hang down as far as comfortable. Then bring it upright. The next exercise is to rotate the end around until it sticks out to the outside line. As the pronators are normally stronger than the supinators it is necessary to switch weights for these two exercises.
Wrist Extension and Flexion - These exercises are done with a dumbbell. They consist simply of standing with the arm hanging at your side and curling or extending the wrist. They can also be done seated with the elbow on your leg and the forearm parallel to the floor. This produces a different stimulus, so it is useful to occasionally switch from one to the other.
The wrist curl will also help develop grip strength for grappling.
As I've mentioned before, the best way to build strength is with relatively higher weight and lower repetitions. For small joint exercises we can't get too high an intensity, but it is safe to do exercises in the 10-12RM range for the wrist; and elbow exercises in the 8-10RM range. Therefore increase the weight of the tool until you can only do the specified number of reps. This is also the reason that I prefer an adjustable tool.
This is in distinct contrast to the usual program for these tools which is based around very large numbers of repetitions at just a few pounds. This style of exercise will produce gains in muscular endurance but very little gain in strength. For somebody new to the program there will be a noticeable gain in strength when starting this program, but these gains are primarily a result of neural training. The training effect is that the muscles become more efficient and coordinated at the action. While this isn't a bad thing, it's not the result we are looking for in strengthening the muscles, because we still aren't triggering or building up our high-threshold motor units. The high-threshold motor units are responsible for our strength and power.
Further we should avoid trying to have good cutting form with these tools. It's not possible and so we shouldn't. Trying to have good form with a strength training tool will cause us to distort our form and so degrade form in the long run. In general you should not try to train form in a tool that weighs more than double the usual amount. For a tool that we are swinging around the math requires an extra step because we are looking at moment of inertia*. In short multiply the total weight of the tool by the distance from the top of your hand to the center of balance for the tool. For a typical longsword, with a 10cm CoB and a total mass of 1.5kg we get .15kgm. With a 2.5 kg tool (~5 lbs.) that's built like a clubbell the CoB is around 20cm out. As such we get a moment of inertia of .5kgm. Too heavy for good form. So use this tool for strength training instead.
* I have simplified the physics here for the sake of making it accessible and usable for a large number of people. I do not believe that my simplification alters the utility of the math.
Wrist and Elbow Exercises
Moulinets and Falling-away - lie on your back* and extend your arm straight up. The imaginary target is in the direction of the ceiling. Cut wrist moulinets: inside, outside and reverses. To make the exercises more difficult you can fall away to the same side, that is when cutting an outside moulinet have the weight fall to the outside instead of continuing in a straight line to the inside.These exercises are done with the forearm straight up so that the "power" part of the exercise is with the weight moving away from you and towards the target. Normally these exercises are shown standing upright with the forearm parallel to the floor. In that position the power is on the return action and the weight can fall through the cut.
* You can also stand/sit with the upper arm parallel to the floor and the forearm straight up, but this brings the weight closer to the head, so it doesn't work well with a lot of equipment or is just plain dangerous.
Disengage - assume the same position as above and then simply make circles with the end of the tool. Small circles are easier and more specific. Larger circles will require and build more strength but are less specific. A mix of each is reasonable. Remember to do both clockwise and counterclockwise.
Elbow Cuts - from the same position you can perform elbow cuts. For these actions a larger weight will be needed to maintain a strength training stimulus. And lower reps can be safely done because the prime movers are the elbow muscles. This exercise brings the weight closer to your face so care must be taken to avoid injury.
Basic Strength
Wrist Abduction and Adduction - Stand upright with your hands down by your side palm inward. Let the weight hang down and then lift it straight up. This is the power stroke of a false/short edge cut. Then reverse the weight so that the heavy end sticks out from the pinky side and do the same. This is the power stroke of a long/true edge cut.
Wrist Supination and Pronation - Stand with your arm extended fully out in front of you. Stick the weight out perpendicular to your arm, to the inside and let it hang down as far as comfortable. Then bring it upright. The next exercise is to rotate the end around until it sticks out to the outside line. As the pronators are normally stronger than the supinators it is necessary to switch weights for these two exercises.
Wrist Extension and Flexion - These exercises are done with a dumbbell. They consist simply of standing with the arm hanging at your side and curling or extending the wrist. They can also be done seated with the elbow on your leg and the forearm parallel to the floor. This produces a different stimulus, so it is useful to occasionally switch from one to the other.
The wrist curl will also help develop grip strength for grappling.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Equipment Recommendations
Here are some of my favorite pieces of equipment:
1. Medicine Balls that bounce, such as these or these. Medicine balls that bounce have two advantages that I appreciate. First, they allow for more plyometric drills for the upper body and torso. Second, they can also train reflexes.
For sword martial arts medicine balls of 4lbs. or 6lbs are appropriate. The objective is something not more than twice the weight of the sword so that you can train speed of execution and the elastic properties of the muscle (with plyometrics).
For unarmed striking training a 2lb. medicine ball works just fine. For grappling training heavier medicine balls become more useful. But see the next item.
2. Sandbells are a great way to throw around heavier things. For these weights of up to around 30% of 1RM work well, since that is the resistance at which maximum power output occurs. Since these are used primarily for upper body work I base the resistance off of bench press 1RM. If you are buying these for a class then aim for lower on the weight, 10-20 lbs.
3. Weighted bars in two-handed and one-handed sizes are a great additional tool. And these are quite easy to DIY. A piece of iron pipe with caps, filled with sand (leftover from the sandbell project), works just as well. I, of course, recommend using them like swords i.e. holding them at the end instead of the way they are used in aerobics classes.
Also, as a DIY project you can make one-handed bars that are much thicker and heavier. These are then useful for grip and wrist strength.
I'm linking to the manufacturers website so that you can get the best view of the product. Once you know what you are getting you, I see no reason not to check Amazon for better prices.
1. Medicine Balls that bounce, such as these or these. Medicine balls that bounce have two advantages that I appreciate. First, they allow for more plyometric drills for the upper body and torso. Second, they can also train reflexes.
For sword martial arts medicine balls of 4lbs. or 6lbs are appropriate. The objective is something not more than twice the weight of the sword so that you can train speed of execution and the elastic properties of the muscle (with plyometrics).
For unarmed striking training a 2lb. medicine ball works just fine. For grappling training heavier medicine balls become more useful. But see the next item.
2. Sandbells are a great way to throw around heavier things. For these weights of up to around 30% of 1RM work well, since that is the resistance at which maximum power output occurs. Since these are used primarily for upper body work I base the resistance off of bench press 1RM. If you are buying these for a class then aim for lower on the weight, 10-20 lbs.
3. Weighted bars in two-handed and one-handed sizes are a great additional tool. And these are quite easy to DIY. A piece of iron pipe with caps, filled with sand (leftover from the sandbell project), works just as well. I, of course, recommend using them like swords i.e. holding them at the end instead of the way they are used in aerobics classes.
Also, as a DIY project you can make one-handed bars that are much thicker and heavier. These are then useful for grip and wrist strength.
I'm linking to the manufacturers website so that you can get the best view of the product. Once you know what you are getting you, I see no reason not to check Amazon for better prices.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Core/Trunk Training for Combat Sports
I seem to have an unusual position on what kind of trunk exercises are appropriate for combat sports. Most trunk exercises I see done are bodyweight and done with a large numbers of repetitions or simply isometric holds. While this is as good a way as any to do conditioning, I don't see it as benefiting the needs of a fighter very much.
In striking and weapon arts the primary ways in which the trunk muscles are going to be used can be divided into offensive and defensive. On the defense I might pull my head backwards quickly, arching my back as I do, so that I can dodge a strike; or duck to the side turning my torso and basically doing an oblique crunch while standing. On the attack my trunk is used to transmit force from my legs and hips to my upper body to make for more powerful hits.
Each of these applications have several important characteristics in common. The movement is sudden: it does not build gradually, it must be made in an instant; the movement is fast; and the movement is high intensity: that is rapid acceleration (and then deceleration).
To this end our trunk exercises should be geared towards producing sudden, fast, high intensity movements. We don't do that with exercises that are way out on the endurance end of intensity. Nor do we do it with isometric exercises.
I suggest four categories of trunk exercises for the fighter.
Conventional Strength Training - Exercises like weighted crunches, obliques, side bends and hyperextensions. The important part is to use enough weight that you can do only 8-12 reps max. Higher intensity i.e. 6RM or less, is not recommended for small muscles like those of the trunk nor for single joint exercises, which these effectively are. Lower intensity builds more strength than endurance and for our purposes we need strength.
For someone who is brand new, isometric exercises, like planks and bridges, can be a reasonable starting point, but only until a 30 sec. hold is possible. Then you need to move up to dynamic exercises. And if necessary start doing crunches and the like with no weight, but only until you can do more than 12, then you need to add weight.
I actually see machines as a perfectly good way to do these exercises. Things like an ab crunch machine, back extension machine or torso rotation machine. But I say that in the context of a person doing a program that includes four different kinds of torso training as well as their technical training. The advantage of a machine in this context is that it allows for higher weights, which builds more strength and power. And I wouldn't do machines all the time, I'd do them in the run up to a competition when I'm looking for max strength and power in my entire program.
Structural Loading - Structural loading is the demand on your torso muscles from lifting and carrying heavy weights. While doing exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges and step-ups* you have to stabilize your torso against the weight. The higher up the weight is held the greater the demand on trunk muscles, so racking weights at shoulder level in the clean position is more challenging than having dumbbells hanging down by your side.
For single leg exercises it's beneficial to hold the weight on the opposite side, such as doing right leg step-ups with a dumbbell in the left hand and vice-versa.
A variety of different exercises will provide a variety of different challenges to your trunk muscles allowing for some fairly complete training of the torso.
* This list isn't exclusive, these are categories of exercises with lot's of potential for variation. Additionally, a wide variety of non-conventional weightlifting options exist which will fulfill this objective. Examples include: sled drag/push, tire flipping, side presses and lots of other options.
Plyometrics - As the needs of our torso muscles are primarily these are important exercises for the program. The neurologic component of any plyometric exercise is driven by the reflex traveling from the muscle to the spine and back. For trunk muscles this is necessarily shorter than any other joint. As such it is most important with trunk plyometrics to minimize the contact time.
Suggested Exercises: Floor slams, Back throws, side throws, reverse/back side throws. As well as chest pass/bounce with a hip pivot.
High-Intensity Trunk Conditioning - There are several options for High-Intensity Interval Training that will also provide a valuable training load on the trunk muscles that stabilize your torso. Battle ropes, clubbells, sledgehammer and similar exercises.
My preference is for heavy bar cutting patterns. Taking a 9+ lb. exercise bar doing cutting patterns is a good high intensity exercises for intervals. Plus throwing around that weight at the end will challenge all of your balance muscles from the ankles to your upper back. This can be put together by buying a 4 foot iron pipe at a home improvement store, and then filling it with sand. The result is cheaper than a sledge hammer (or clubbell) but with similar characteristics.
In striking and weapon arts the primary ways in which the trunk muscles are going to be used can be divided into offensive and defensive. On the defense I might pull my head backwards quickly, arching my back as I do, so that I can dodge a strike; or duck to the side turning my torso and basically doing an oblique crunch while standing. On the attack my trunk is used to transmit force from my legs and hips to my upper body to make for more powerful hits.
Each of these applications have several important characteristics in common. The movement is sudden: it does not build gradually, it must be made in an instant; the movement is fast; and the movement is high intensity: that is rapid acceleration (and then deceleration).
To this end our trunk exercises should be geared towards producing sudden, fast, high intensity movements. We don't do that with exercises that are way out on the endurance end of intensity. Nor do we do it with isometric exercises.
I suggest four categories of trunk exercises for the fighter.
Conventional Strength Training - Exercises like weighted crunches, obliques, side bends and hyperextensions. The important part is to use enough weight that you can do only 8-12 reps max. Higher intensity i.e. 6RM or less, is not recommended for small muscles like those of the trunk nor for single joint exercises, which these effectively are. Lower intensity builds more strength than endurance and for our purposes we need strength.
For someone who is brand new, isometric exercises, like planks and bridges, can be a reasonable starting point, but only until a 30 sec. hold is possible. Then you need to move up to dynamic exercises. And if necessary start doing crunches and the like with no weight, but only until you can do more than 12, then you need to add weight.
I actually see machines as a perfectly good way to do these exercises. Things like an ab crunch machine, back extension machine or torso rotation machine. But I say that in the context of a person doing a program that includes four different kinds of torso training as well as their technical training. The advantage of a machine in this context is that it allows for higher weights, which builds more strength and power. And I wouldn't do machines all the time, I'd do them in the run up to a competition when I'm looking for max strength and power in my entire program.
Structural Loading - Structural loading is the demand on your torso muscles from lifting and carrying heavy weights. While doing exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges and step-ups* you have to stabilize your torso against the weight. The higher up the weight is held the greater the demand on trunk muscles, so racking weights at shoulder level in the clean position is more challenging than having dumbbells hanging down by your side.
For single leg exercises it's beneficial to hold the weight on the opposite side, such as doing right leg step-ups with a dumbbell in the left hand and vice-versa.
A variety of different exercises will provide a variety of different challenges to your trunk muscles allowing for some fairly complete training of the torso.
* This list isn't exclusive, these are categories of exercises with lot's of potential for variation. Additionally, a wide variety of non-conventional weightlifting options exist which will fulfill this objective. Examples include: sled drag/push, tire flipping, side presses and lots of other options.
Plyometrics - As the needs of our torso muscles are primarily these are important exercises for the program. The neurologic component of any plyometric exercise is driven by the reflex traveling from the muscle to the spine and back. For trunk muscles this is necessarily shorter than any other joint. As such it is most important with trunk plyometrics to minimize the contact time.
Suggested Exercises: Floor slams, Back throws, side throws, reverse/back side throws. As well as chest pass/bounce with a hip pivot.
High-Intensity Trunk Conditioning - There are several options for High-Intensity Interval Training that will also provide a valuable training load on the trunk muscles that stabilize your torso. Battle ropes, clubbells, sledgehammer and similar exercises.
My preference is for heavy bar cutting patterns. Taking a 9+ lb. exercise bar doing cutting patterns is a good high intensity exercises for intervals. Plus throwing around that weight at the end will challenge all of your balance muscles from the ankles to your upper back. This can be put together by buying a 4 foot iron pipe at a home improvement store, and then filling it with sand. The result is cheaper than a sledge hammer (or clubbell) but with similar characteristics.
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